Researchers at the University of Durham in the UK have created what could be called the world’s first plastic magnet to work at room temperatures [via NewScientist.com].
The magnets works on the principle that aligning up the free radicals in the polymer lead to an effective magnetic dipole that generates a magnetic field around it. The idea is to mimic conventional magnets where the alignment of electron spins generates a magnetic dipole.
This sort of technology has enormous implications in the hard drive industry where the magnetic coating of the discs could be made of such plastics.
Reference:
Polymer 45 5683-5689 (2004) - might need a subscription